Candy told me nothing really matters anymore
And when I ask her what she means she says I ought to know
Candy said she's made arrangements for me in the sand
And Candy said she wants me with her down in Candyland

Candy says she wonders why we try
I couldn't think of what to say
I had no ready reply
But Candy says I'd like it where she is

She says it's an opportunity that I don't want to miss
Candy said she's made arrangements for me in the sand
And Candy said she wants me with her down in Candyland
Candy said she wants me with her down in Candyland

Candy asked me if she died if I could go on
Of course I said I couldn't and of course we knew that's wrong
But Candy I said Candy no you can't do that to me
Because you love me way to much for you to ever leave

Candy said she's made arrangements for me in the sand
And Candy said she wants me with her down in Candyland
Candy said she's made arrangements for me in the sand
And Candy said she wants me with her down in Candyland

9 Comments

Song MeaningI belive this song to be about taking drugs. This is only an opinion. My reasons are why use the name candy, when there are a million girls names you could pick. Is it because she is sweet, maybe. Then so are drugs to their user. Candyland seems to be the place where candy ie. morphine can take him. The song goes on to mention if she died he couldn't go on, but of course we both know that is wrong. If drugs are taken away from the user they do go through hell but they don't die. Then this sentence "But Candy, I said, Candy no You can't do that to me Because you love me way too much For you to ever leave. This is an odd sentence if your talking about a relationship. but from a drug perspective it makes total sense, you can't say to your loved one about leaving if she loves you way too much it's just odd. But heroin loves it user alot and has no intention of letting go so he would die 1st from probable overdose. One final impression this song gave me about taking drugs is "Candy said she's made arrangements
For me in the sand And Candy said she wants me with her Down in Candyland" Making arrangments in sand mean they only exist for 12 hours max before the tide washes it away, and if they are living together why would his beloved girlfriend only be making arrangments like this. To sum up I think this song is about the love hate relationship with drugs like morphine and heroin.

Agree with @morphinejunkie and @coughxcool: this is a song about drugs, morphine or heroin in particular, personified as a lover named "Candy." (Candy could also be a real addict / dealer girlfriend).

She's sweet and sexy and seductive and is trying to lure the narrator away from the real world. In Candyland, "nothing really matters anymore" and "she wonders why we try" to live life, i.e., when they could just enjoy the euphoria of being together? Candyland is "down" from real life, a place to be pulled under, to swim or drown, a lower energy / accomplishment state. "And when I ask her what she means she says I ought to know" is because he's been in this place before... but (see below) isn't using currently.

Of the "arrangements in the sand," the "sand" is the literal powder of the drugs; and time in the hourglass of the narrator's life; and the dirt in which he will eventually be buried. Also, per @morphinejunkie, it's an impermanent thing that will be swept or washed away; it's shiftless and without structure.

"Candy asked me if she died if I could go on / Of course I said I couldn't and of course we knew that's wrong" means, "Could he quit?" He says he can't... but they both know that he COULD quit - and may have already done so. Even as he's saying "But Candy I said Candy no you can't do that to me / Because you love me way to much for you to ever leave" - note that SHE loves HIM too much for HER to ever leave? In part, that's about withdrawl... but also because, in this metaphor, it's ultimately the opiate that needs him to "live."

It seems like the narrator is being tempted... perhaps to fall off the wagon, if he had quit, but it's also possible that this particular "Candy" represents a potential escalation of his habit. Maybe he was using morphine and is contemplating heroin? Or this is supposed to be the "really good" stuff? "But Candy says I'd like it where she is / She says it's an opportunity that I don't want to miss."

General Commenti never considered that this song could be about suicide. i was given this song on a mixed cd by a guy i was "dating" once. my interpretation is probably based on that bad relationship. i see it as a song about a girl who is in love with a guy, that doesn't love her back. she wants him with her, and tries desperately to see if she can make him admit that he cares for her, and while he may feign love for her to an extent, he does not feel the same way that she does. she is busy planning their future lives together and he sees this plans as sort of a trap. "down in the sand", if you will. great song.

General Commentthis song is great. i think it's about a guy who's in love with a girl who is really fucked up and he can't do anything about it. that could be wrong but that's what i think of when i hear this song.

General CommentIt's about desparate blind love in the beginning of a relationship and the fear of losing your lover when you start to feel things may be going sour in the relationship. One wants to hold on to the good part of the relationship no matter what the cost, even death. Candy is obviosly an unstable girl that want's to kill herself and want's the guy to kill himself too so they die together in a suicide pact before their passionate love fades. "Down in candyland" - Candy doesn't want to be alone in hell. She's onviously in mad love with the guy, but he doesn't want to kill himself. He doesn't love her as much as she loves him. She tries to seduce him, but in the end he knows that as long as he lives, she won't kill herself. "Candy says she's made arrangements for me in the sand" - Candy is planning their deaths. It has a slight overtone that she will murder him if he doesn't.

General CommentI originally thought this song was about sex (I really wasn't paying that much attention to the lyrics, obviously), but now it almost sounds like a suicide pact. I get that from "Candy says she wants me with her down in Candyland."

General CommentMy mother told me a story about a time when she went to see Treat Her Right guys in a bar in New York with my dad. She was pregnant with me at the time and was standing at the bar getting a drink when Mark Sandman of the band came out to the bar. They started talking and he asked her what she was naming the baby and she told him that her name was Dawn and her babies name was going to be Candice. A little while later Sandman left treat her right and formed Morphine and they came out with a CD called "Cure for Pain" One song on the CD was called Dawna and another was called Candy. Not sure if he was inspired by me and my mom but hey its a cool story to tell right!

General CommentI used to think the song was about a girl wanting to be buried with her boyfriend, Then I wondered if it was a married couple's lament of having trouble conceiving a kid. I'm still not sure what it's about, The suicide pact interpretation sounds like it could be it but I'm slow to admit it if that's the case.

General CommentFirst I thought that this is about a girl with death illness. But now I tend to think that it is about girl that have too much plans for her and her guy that doesn't know if he loves her or not.